Mobile Roundup

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT CHANGES

TO THE 2018 MOBILE ROUNDUP

PLEASE READ:

CALL NOW TO SCHEDULE YOUR APPOINTMENT: You must make an APPOINTMENT for your inspection. Appointments will be made on a first call first serve basis. To schedule your inspection APPOINTMENT please call 559-600-3047. Make a note of your appointment date and time. Please arrive a few minutes before your appointment time to check in.

Appointments will be scheduled between the hours of:

9:00AM - 11:15AM

1:30PM – 3:00PM

2018 Mobile Roundup Dates are:

March 19 – 23

March 26 – 29

In addition, due to recent construction for the proposed High Speed Rail, one of the parking lots used for mobile parking is gone. Therefore, all activities will be occurring in the remaining parking lot. We will process credit card and check payments**, copy required documents, and inspect the mobile units.

**CASH payments must be made inside the Department of Public Health building once you CHECK-IN FOR YOUR APPOINTMENT. Payment by cash will prolong the inspection process. It is recommended that payments be made by either check or credit card, if at all possible.

What to do:

Before your appointment time:

Drive to the Kidney parking lot next to the Health Department (see map below).

Park in the section marked with cones or as directed by staff, otherwise you risk a parking ticket.

Look for the county truck and pop up tent (follow arrow signs).

At your appointment time, check in at the tent and follow directions for fee payment and inspections.

Please review the following documents, which were also provided with your invoice. The documents include:

Carts on caster wheels (limited to stationary venues like stadiums, hospitals, or indoor shopping malls that are in compliance with zoning laws for that venue)

Push carts

Most any other motorized or non-motorized mobile conveyance

Note: roll-off trailers are typically not considered food vehicles since they can not visit their commissary once each operating day.

A potentially hazardous food (PHF) is defined as: "...food that is in a form capable of (1) supporting rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms that may cause food infections or food intoxications, or (2) supporting the growth or toxin production of Clostridium botulinum..." - CalCode Section 113871

Examples of potentially hazardous food are, but not limited to:

Meat (beef, carne asada, goat, lamb, etc.)

Poultry

Fish and seafood

Pork

Dairy (milk, cheese, eggs, cream, other milk products, etc.)

Cooked vegetables, rice, beans, soup or other plant materials

There are two classifications of food vehicles:

1. MFF (Mobile Food Facilities)

A MFF can sell prepackaged foods and unpackaged potentially hazardous foods. Examples would include chips, candy, churros, shaved ice, bottled drinks, etc. Vehicles, food, equipment, or utensils used for retail operations may not be stored, used, prepared, or serviced at private homes. A MFF can also engage in “Limited Food Preparation.”

“Limited Food Preparation” refers to the following types of food preparation:

Dispensing and portioning of non-potentially hazardous foods that do not require hot holding.

Slicing and chopping of food on a heated cooking surface during the cooking process, not on a separate cutting board or food contact surface.

Cooking and seasoning for immediate service only for an individual customer’s order. No advance or partial cooking allowed on the MFF.

Preparing beverages that are for immediate service, in response to an individual consumer order, that do not contain frozen milk products (such as ice cream, gelato, or frozen yogurt).

Limited food preparation does not include any of the following and, therefore, is not allowed on a mobile food facility:

Slicing and chopping unless it is on the heated cooking surface.

Thawing.

Cooling of cooked, potentially hazardous food.

Grinding raw ingredients or potentially hazardous food.

Reheating of potentially hazardous foods for hot holding, except for steamed or boiled hot dogs and tamales in the original, inedible wrapper. The only foods allowed in steam tables are hot dogs and tamales.

Hot holding of non-prepackaged, potentially hazardous food, except for roasting corn on the cob, steamed or boiled hot dogs, and tamales in the original, inedible wrapper.

2. MFPU (Mobile Food Preparation Unit)

A MFPU is a fully enclosed vehicle with cooking, hot holding, mechanical refrigeration equipment, and electrical generator. All food preparation must be done on the vehicle or at commercial kitchens permitted as commissaries. Vehicles, food, equipment, or utensils used for retail operations may NOT be stored, used, prepared, or serviced at private homes.

Outdoor cooking such as barbecues, wood-burning ovens, and vertical broilers are NOT allowed unless you are approved to operate at a community event. (See the community events section for more information.)

Commissary

All MFPU's and MFF's must operate from a commissary. Vehicles, food, equipment, or utensils used for retail operations may NOT be stored, used, prepared, or serviced at private homes. The food vehicle must visit the commissary at least once each operating day. The commissary is where all of the following occurs:

See the permitting process below for details. If a MFF operator wishes to prepare potentially hazardous foods for sale on the vehicle, the operator must prepare, package, and label the food at the commissary's permitted commercial kitchen. Preparation or handling of unpackaged potentially hazardous foods on any MFF is not allowed.

Permitting Process for Mobile Food Vendors

Plans: There are many details in the proper construction or remodel of a food vehicle. Costly mistakes can be made very easily. We would like to assist you in planning your construction or remodel of your vehicle. If you are building, having someone else build you a food vehicle, or remodeling / updating an existing vehicle, please contact this office prior to beginning any construction or remodeling work. Plans must be submitted with your proposed operation and menu for review and approval to ensure that the vehicle complies with all Health and Safety Code requirements and can be permitted. There is currently no fee for plan review of mobile units.

If you are planning on purchasing a food vehicle, please consider having your inspector (based on your chosen commissary) evaluate the vehicle prior purchase. An evaluation will provide you with information about what corrections may be necessary to obtain a permit based on your proposed operation.

Permit to Operate: All mobile food vendors that operate in Fresno County must obtain a Permit to Operate and have the vehicle inspected from Fresno County Environmental Health prior to business commencement. The permit year for mobile food vendors is from April 1st to March 31st of the following year. Each mobile operator will receive a nontransferable permit to be kept on the vehicle at all times and a Vehicle Permit Approval sticker once the vehicle passes inspection. The permit includes three elements:

The vehicle (the specific vehicle and equipment at the time the permit is issued)

The permit holder (the person or entity who is the business owner)

The operation (includes menu, equipment and procedure for preparing all elements of the menu, how the food is served to the consumer, and where food will be served to the consumer)

If any of these three items change, the Permit to Operate is no longer valid. Prior to changes to any of these three elements, your inspector must be notified. Contact your inspector at 559-600-3357.

To obtain a permit, please see the following requirements:

Commissary: In order to be permitted as a MFPU or MFF, you must have a commissary. A commissary is a currently permitted food facility that is capable of, and has agreed to, let you use their facilities for the storage, servicing and cleaning of your MFPU or MFF.
You will need to submit a Commissary Authorization Form completed and signed by the commissary operator and you, the vehicle operator, as documentation of this agreement. If the facility that you are interested in is not currently permitted as a commissary, then an inspection may be required to determine if the facility can support your vehicle activity needs and be permitted as a commissary. For information about currently permitted commissaries, contact the office at (559) 600-3357.

Vehicle & Operator Identification: In addition to other items on this list, you will also need to bring with you to the inspection appointment your vehicle’s valid DMV registration (if applicable) and a valid California Driver’s License or California Identification Card.

Operational Statement: For some new or unique businesses we may require a completed operational statement. Contact your inspector to see if this will be required of your operation. This operational statement will help you think through some details that you may not have considered and it provides a more complete picture of your operation. The better we understand your operation, the better we will be able to determine what your requirements will be and how to evaluate your vehicle.
This form was designed to encompass many different types of food vehicles, so not everything on the form is going to apply to all vehicle operations. Please include detailed information about your menu, vehicle, route information (locations where you will be selling) and operation.

Inspection Appointment: In order to obtain a Permit to Operate, you must schedule an appointment with your inspector. The location of your commissary determines who your inspector will be. You will be required to bring your vehicle(s), fully functional and ready to operate (hot water at sinks, steam tables on and 135°F or above, mechanical refrigeration on and 41°F or below, all equipment in place, etc.) to the office for inspection, submit the above documentation, complete an Environmental Health Application and pay fees. (View map to our office or the Master Schedule of Fees.)
If your vehicle passes inspection, you will be issued a Vehicle Permit Approval sticker and you may begin operating in Fresno County. Here is a list of the main requirements for food vehicles. This list is not all-inclusive.

Zoning Laws

You must comply with zoning laws at all of the locations you choose to operate. Zoning laws typically do not allow for mobiles to set up in parking lots, street corners or empty dirt lots. Staying in one location even when you do not have customers requires proper land use entitlements. You may travel a route and stop at businesses, offices, manufacturing and construction sites stopping only as long as you have customers. Some locations that typically do not have zoning restrictions are:

Community events

City parks (but you must obtain authorization from the city or county parks office prior to operating)

Fairgrounds

Amusement parks

Inside indoor shopping Malls

For more information, please contact the zoning department with jurisdiction over the location(s) you are considering. For example: a strip mall parking lot in Fresno City, contact the City of Fresno's Zoning office.

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